Links to the past
by Lise-Lyla
Summary: Cats, Kidnapping, and Thiefshipping! Bakura is out Thiefing and meets an old friend, if anyone can guess who she is you can have a virtual cookie! R&R please constructive critism is welcome! 3 luv: LISE AND LYLA Thanks goes out to AnbarElectrum for helping me with unofficial Beta-ing!
1. Chapter 1

Bakura stepped into the dark alley as the police car sped past. He smirked and peered into his bag at the stolen items: a diamond ring, a pearl necklace and a small ruby. He pulled off the dark mask he had been wearing and strode farther down the shadowy alley.

A trash can fell over in front of him but being the Thief King that he was Bakura easily leapt over the fallen can and landed silently. He looked around for the cause of the disturbance. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of silvery white race around a corner. He followed the running figure. It seemed to him that it was female, with silvery hair with bright blood red streaks that reached the small of her back. She was small in stature; perhaps 5 feet tall, but she was a fast runner and had the grace and agility of a cat. She leapt up on top of a dumpster, swung up on a streetlamp and perched just above the sputtering bulb. The light beneath her shadowed her angular face heavily, making it impossible to see any details. Bakura growled low in his throat, catching a glimpse of sparkling green eyes, reflective as mirrors, and the gleam of little fang-like incisors. He rested a hand on the dumpster and sprang lithely up after her, calling out, "If you come down I promise not to hurt you I just want to speak with you." His voice was hushed (he didn't want to draw undue attention to himself) but he knew it would rebound and echo into her ears.

Of course, he was lying about not hurting her. He wanted to feel her blood beneath his fingers, taste her tears, and hear her screams—didn't she know this was his turf? _No one _but him was allowed to raid the shops and residences of the wealthy Reiko District, and if this girl wasn't a thief he would eat his Millennium Ring. Whole. In front of the Pharaoh.

The girl cocked her head to one side and giggled. The sound was innocent, childlike—and completely mad. A chill ran down Bakura's spine and he growled, baring his teeth impressively.

The girl giggled again and leaned into the light, throwing her red-painted lips into sharp relief. She grinned evilly and licked her lips, flicking her tongue over one of her little fangs. Bakura's face flushed, recognizing both the innuendo and the challenge. So she fancied herself his equal, hm? Well, she might jump like a cat. But in five thousand years, there had only been one King of Thieves, and she would _not_ best him!

He jumped for the streetlight and began to climb his way up the pole, hand over hand. He felt the pole shake as the girl leapt lightly from the lamp. Reaching the top, Bakura looked around and spied her standing on the roof of a store across the street.

"How the bloody hell did she get over there?" he muttered to himself. If she'd somehow gotten ahold of a Shadow artifact, he was going to _kill_ her. And then take the artifact. And then bludgeon the Pharaoh over the head with it for leaving it where some silly mortal could find it.

Actually, that last one sounded risky. Maybe he'd make Marik do that instead.

Bakura slid down the pole and sprinted across the street. Noticing a ladder he swung himself up onto it, hands fair flying up the rungs. Landing silently on the rooftop, he scanned his surroundings. The girl was nowhere to be seen.

_Guess I'll have to find different prey then._

Leaping from roof to roof he headed home. Although Ryou's paycheck was meager at best, Bakura made plenty of money from fencing his 'nightly earnings' and so he owned a comfortable penthouse in a 25 story hotel. Owned by KaibaCorp, naturally. Bakura would have to remember to rob _dear _Seto's preferred bank again soon. Just because he had to pay the man _rent _didn't mean he couldn't make a killing off of him.

Pity there was no good way to make that literal.

He chose this building for one specific reason. For reasons known only to the architect, the outer walls of the hotel were molded into a distinct grooved pattern. Very pretty from the street, and very useful grips for strong, nimble fingers such as his own. Bakura stood at last on the balcony of his penthouse and peeled off his sweaty shirt before settling into a lawn chair, enjoying the feel of the summer breeze against the bare skin of his toned chest. He closed his eyes and drifted into a fretful dream.

**He saw himself holding a knife and his feet moved him towards a crouching figure. Her wrists and ankles were bound and a dirty rag was shoved into her mouth. He reached the hand that was not holding the knife out to her and gently caressed her sleeping face. Her luminescent green eyes snapped open first in fear and then happiness? He couldn't place that look though he knew it was an emotion he had never felt. His hand pulled out the gag and threw it away. He thought to himself "I want to hear her screams." But what his dream self did surprised the violent thief king. He leaned forward and kissed the silver haired girl on the top of her head. Tears were running down her cheeks and her soft sobs echoed throughout the dark, dank room. "Okay here we go now the torture" he thought but again his dream self surprised him. He cut the bonds on her wrists and ankles and helped her to her feet. She collapsed against him and he supported her as they staggered out of the room. The vision faded and was replaced by a later one, now they were outside in an alley. The girl stopped to breath and leaned against the dirty wall of the alley. She put a hand to her mouth as she coughed blood, her pupils dilated at different rates and she slumped to the ground .Bakura stared at the three deep gashes that were soaking her shirt and earlier the wall in a deep crimson red. He looked at the girls face and her eyes were glazed over. Dead.**

"Ba-kooooooooooh-raaaaaaah!

"Go._ Away."_

"Ba-kooooooooooh-raaaaaaah! Wake uh-up!"

_Oh, _bugger me. _Then him. And then set him on fire._

Bakura groaned and sat up. Blinking his eyes, he realized he was inches from another, lavender set. His maid/live-in, Marik, was sitting on his lap. Which, mind you, was a rather pleasant place to find him, but not while Bakura was still too busy blinking away sleep to appreciate it.

"What was your dream about 'Kura? Marik stood up and fluffed Bakura's hair. "Was it about me 'Kura?"

Bakura sighed and pushed Marik out of his way, standing up. "What are you _wearing_, Marik?"

"Like it?" Marik smoothed the flared black skirt and frilly apron.

"Did you _shave_ your _legs_?" Bakura groaned and rested his head in his hands. It was a pity he had such a headache. They _were_ very nice legs. "I should take a picture for posterity. I can't see your midriff."

"Bakura."

"Marik—"

"Who was your dream about?"

"Bugger off." Bakura stalked away. Bathroom. All he had to do was get to the bathroom, and he could spend the rest of the day in a daze of bubble-bath and Advil.

"Ba-koooooooooooooooh-raaaaaaaaa," Marik sang, following him.

"_Marik!_" Bakura roared, wincing as the volume exacerbated his headache. "No. No, the _bloody dream_ was not about _you._ Some…girl. Now go away."

Marik pouted. "Not about _me?_ Not about the gorgeousness that is Marik Ishtar? Oooh…does my 'Kura have a crush?" The Tomb Keeper smirked. "Wait-wait-wait _girl? Girl?_ B-but Bakura?"

"No. I do not. Have a crush," Bakura growled. "_Marmar_."

Marik wrinkled his nose at Bakura. "What is it you always say? _Call me that again and I'll gut you like a fish, you buggering bastard," _he said in poor mimicry of Bakura's harsh English tones. "Fine. Whaaat-eeever. What did you get last night?"

Bakura sighed and reached into a pocket of his cargo pants, pulling his haul out for Marik's examination. "Diamond ring, pearl necklace, small ruby."

"Excellent! I'll take the ring and the rest goes to the rent."

"As does the ring," Bakura replied, glaring. Marik pouted.

"You never bring _me_ anything! I have to get my own gifts! So I got a pet last night."

"Fine, Marik. Whatever." Bakura resumed his trudge to the bathroom. Then he stopped dead. "You did _what?_" he yelped.

As if in answer, a sleek white cat strolled out onto the patio through the open sliding door. Its fur glistened in the sun, almost silver in color, and it had ruby red splotches over its back—dyed, no doubt—but to Bakura the most intriguing thing were the three dark crimson streaks which appeared almost like deep gashes in the cat's back.

"Marik…" he growled.

"Eheh…" Marik grinned nervously. "Um, I'll just…be…changing, then. Lots to do! Work! Work is very important! Have fun, Bakura! And if I come home to find you've killed Crimson I will be _very angry._" He turned to head down the hallway, but Bakura grabbed him by the back of his dress.

Bum bum buuuuummmmm. Not a hobo… the dramatic music duh! If anyone can figure out my plot twist points 4 u and a COOKIE! (okay wow I was really hyper when I typed this. Note for readers: it was three AM and I was loopy ha-ha ya and I edited this with help from the constructive criticism of: forgottenforever! It was awesome and thank you again! And thanks to my editor (aka my BFF) AnbarElectrum! Well bye for now!

Love LISE! 


	2. Chapter 2

LISE: Chapter 2 yayay (does Kermit the frog imitation!)

Bakura has an interesting dream and he has an unexpected house guest which reminds him of said dream.

**IT takes a cat to catch a thief (new name but if you have any ideas please tell me/us)**

"Marik," Bakura growled into his ear. "Why does _your cat_ look like the _girl_ in _my dream_?" Bakura grabbed Marik's hair and dragged him into the kitchen. The cat followed, looking vague yet interested in that way that cats do.

Bakura held Marik by his throat with one hand and pushed him up against the fridge. With his free hand Bakura pulled open a drawer and whipped out a small but wickedly sharp knife and placed the cutting edge against Marik's cheek.

"_You-bloody-wanker-I-should-kill-you_." Bakura took a breath. "Explain yourself. Now!"

"Bakura! What have I told you about using the kitchen knives to murder people?" Marik looked indignant.

"Do you even _notice_ who I'm _threatening _with this, or are you actually _that thick_?" Bakura hissed.

"I have never been thick in my life," Marik replied primly. "I exercise every day."

Bakura sighed heavily and let Marik go.

"Forget it, Marik. I forgot just how _awful_ you were at plotting. There's no way _you_ had anything to do with this, you're not devious enough." He huffed out a breath. "For the love of _Ra_, that was a disturbing dream."

"Yes, well, that is true I suppo—_HEY!_ I can _plot!_ I am _devious!_ _I_ am _Marik Ishtar_, the Devious _King_ of _Plotting!_"

Ignoring his roommate/live-in/maid/partner-in-all-things-illegal, Bakura pushed his snowy bangs out of his eyes and looked at the cat—Crimson, as he supposed he should get used to calling it. It certainly didn't sound like Marik was going to get rid of it anytime soon.

The cat mewed softly and rubbed up against the Thief King's legs.

Something inside Bakura's chest melted as the cat peered up at him through huge green eyes.

"I really do like cats…sacred animals and all that. I guess we can keep it Marik." Bakura said reluctantly.

Marik bent down, scooped up the cat, and petted its head.

"Her name is Crimson because of the red marks. I mean, she _looks _like a girl, but I don't know." He showed his forearm to Bakura, who noted four long, shallow gashes on the underside. "See, she scratched me when I tried to check. Rude little kitty. Reminds me of someone else I know," he commented, eyeing Bakura and rubbing the nick on his cheek meaningfully.

Bakura chuckled. "Good girl. Come on let's watch the news. I want to see the look on the Pharaoh's face when he has to tell the whole city about my latest escapade."

Marik groaned. "Bakura, you know I hate you with all my heart, but not enough that I can actually do the whole evil-genius-who-watches-everything bit with you. You like it too much. And my midriff needs air. Have fun, kitties." He went to go change.

"I am not a kitty!" Bakura yowled after him.

Getting no response, Bakura shrugged and plopped down on the couch. Crimson leapt up and settled on the back of the sofa above the albino's head. The Thief King clicked on the TV and turned the sound up in time to hear:

_"The Thief King has struck again,"_ Yami reported, wine-red eyes narrowed. The thief grinned. Oh yes, Pharaoh knew _exactly _what Bakura was doing right now. He stuck his tongue out at the ex-King of Egypt.

"_Who is this terrible criminal?" The Pharaoh glared again. "We have eye witnesses saying they glimpsed a dark figure running from the robbed store, here are some traffic camera images that caught it all on tape."_

The screen blinked to darkness—though not before Bakura caught a glimpse of the smug smirk on Yami's face—and then showed the dark street he knew far too well for his taste. The footage showed smoke billowing from around the doorframe of a jewelry store. The door burst open allowing the masked and hooded thief to slip away. The image panned out showing the whole building and Bakura stood up and rushed up to his large TV. On the roof of the robbed building was a girl—you could see her outline clearly as she leapt over the edge of the building into the alley the Thief King had disappeared into moments before.

And Bakura knew that when she landed, she'd toppled a trash can.

The video was rewound, zoomed in, and frozen to show the girl, her pale hair shining orange in the street-light and hiding her face.

"_According to police reports, this girl is an accomplice of the Thief King,"_ Yami said, his baritone voice conveying _oceans_ of Not Buyin' It. _"Although the Thief King has worked alone up 'til now, this 'Thief Queen' may be just the lead police need to catch him red-handed. If you have any information on either the Thief King or the Thief Queen, please call the Domino Police Department. And now to Yugi with the weather."_

The screen went crackly with interference for a moment—that was what happened when you used magic to screw up technology long enough to switch with your alter ego, one guessed.

Bakura stared at the television in astonishment.

_Thief. Queen._

He collapsed back down on the couch, when suddenly Yugi and his weather map disappeared in static again, and the screen changed to show Yami once again, slightly pinkish with the effort it must have taken to run back to the newscaster's desk in time.

"_Breaking news," _he reported, faintly breathless (some still-functional part of Bakura's mind filed that away for blackmail purposes). _"The so-called 'Thief Queen' has been identified as a seventeen-year-old girl calling herself Sc—"_

The TV blinked off.

Bakura screamed in rage and looked at Crimson. She had her paw on the 'Off' button on the remote. She gave the twitch of whiskers that was a cat smile, picked up the remote in her teeth and sprinted off to Bakura's room. He leapt up and gave chase.

Bakura entered his room and slammed the door shut, looking around. The cat was nowhere to be seen. He checked under his bed and in his closet, but there really wasn't anywhere else to look—he'd carefully arranged the furniture so that he'd be able to find any intruders swiftly.

Sighing in frustration and weariness he laid down on his bed, reached under his pillow and pulled out a ragged teddy bear. Pulling the sheets over his head he curled up into a ball and hugged the bear. He closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

Standing in the doorway, Marik watched him sympathetically, back in his accustomed crop-top with the gold chain and cargo pants.

"'Night, Fluffy," he whispered fondly, tiptoeing to close the curtains. "Hope you have better dreams this time."

Then he got out of there before Bakura could wake up and threaten to knife him for the 'Fluffy' comment.

Theirs was a complicated relationship, Marik reflected, but a rewarding one.

The heat was stifling. What idiot had put a blanket over him? Didn't they know this was the bloody Sahara? He couldn't breathe…

Bakura fought his way out of the enveloping sheets, gasping for air when he managed to free his face. Ugh. There was nothing like near-death-by-smothering to bring back old memories. It was night-time, for Ra's sake, where did it get off being _so _bloody _hot_ in _Japan?_ Weren't they practically next door to _Siberia?_

He opened his eyes and bright green ones stared right back at him. Sighing he tried to fall back asleep but was startled to full wakefulness by the sound of shattering glass.

Pushing Crimson off of him he leapt off his bed and grabbed his favorite knife. He raced into his living room and looked out onto the balcony. Someone had definitely been there—they had knocked over one of the patio tables and shattered it. Bakura gritted his teeth. He'd just bought those new tables. He _liked_ those new tables. He liked them _far more _than whatever _buggering idiot _had just _broken _one. The Thief King hid himself just around the corner from the sliding glass doors to the balcony, concealed behind the solid wall.

The novice intruder took this as a sign he hadn't been noticed. The shadowed figure walked to the door and tried the knob. Bakura knew it was unlocked so he hid himself further—behind a curtain in a dark corner of the room. The intruder stepped into the moonlight: A boy with sandy blond hair streaked with dark orange. The boy checked a small device that he held and walked into Bakura's room. Slowly and quietly, Bakura followed him.

The boy checked the device again and walked to the bed, pulling back the sheets he grabbed the cat roughly and said "Found you! Jesus, Scar', what'd you run off for?"

"There are three things I care about in this world," Bakura commented suddenly.

The boy whirled around and gasped, his shaggy mane of hair swirling into disarray.

"Where did you come from?" he asked Bakura.

"They are as follows," Bakura continued, unconcerned. "My continued existence. Marik Ishtar. And my set of patio tables. Of the three of them, Marik is the only one capable of annoying me and he will _bitch_ for _days_ if I let you take his cat. And the only way to get Marik Ishtar to _shut up_ is to give him what he wants or kill him."

Growling, Bakura stepped forward, "So tell me. Since this is _my _house, and that is _his _cat, which makes it mine automatically, and you _already_ broke one of my patio tables, _why_ shouldn't I just…deal with you?" He changed his grip on the knife, holding it by the tip and leveling it for a throw. "Put the cat down and leave, little boy. You really have no idea who you're screwing with here."

"No… I came for her and I'm not leaving without her," the boy insisted, clutching Crimson to his chest. The cat yowled in protest.

"So let me get this straight. You broke into a hotel penthouse—_my _hotel penthouse—for a cat?"

"…Maybe" the boy mumbled sheepishly.

Chuckling darkly, Bakura spun the knife hilt back into his hand. He walked over and patted the boy's shoulder with the non-knife-wielding hand. "Not that I don't appreciate the dedication, kid, but you've…miscalculated. I'm not a mark. Not even close. Now get out of my house."

The boy nodded and tried to run past Bakura, but the Thief King grabbed his arm.

"_Tsk._ I meant _without_ the cat."

A soft voice sifted slowly through Bakura's head. It echoed softly as if he were hearing it in a cave. _*Don't let him take me…'Kura.*_

Bakura blinked. _***Well **_**you're **_**not my esteemed landlord.***_

The boy glanced from the blank look on Bakura's face to the cat. "Oh come on. You didn't. …You did, didn't you? Oh," the boy hissed through his teeth, looking pained. "He's gonna be _so_ pissed at you, you _know _not supposed to make mind-links with other people."

Bakura stared at the boy, and then at Crimson.

"Mind-link," he said slowly.

Bakura lunged forward and grabbed the cat around the middle and the boy by the arm. He dragged the boy into the living room, keeping a tight hold on his arm and on Crimson.

_*Owsie! 'Kura, stop being so rough! That really hurts my ribs!* _She bit down on his hand, hard. Startled, the Thief King let go of both boy and cat. The boy sprinted past Bakura and disappeared through the window. The thief lunged for him, but the boy was quicker and vanishing into the dark. Bakura threw up the sash and looked around outside.

There was no sign of the boy.

Bakura growled and _smashed _the window back down on the sill with a force that made the pane vibrate most ominously. He sat down on the couch next to a pouting cat. After a few moments of studiously _not looking,_ he turned to glare at it.

_*What are you staring at?*_ the soft voice said fiercely.

_***You. What in the name of **_**Osiris**_** are you?***_

_*No need to bring _Him _into this,*_ Crimson reproached.

_***Ra **_**damn **_**it, Crimson—!***_

_*Or Him. And that's not my name, 'Kura.*_

"Too bloody bad. How are you even talking to me like this? You're not Ryou. You're not even human! I'm talking to a _bloody CAT!"_ he shouted aloud.

_*Yes, yes you are.* _The now-nameless cat stood up and walked back towards Bakura's room. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. _*I'll explain in the morning, alright? Just…I'm very tired now due to extensive mind-linking. May I sleep, please?*_

She jumped up on the bed, and Bakura lay down next to her. He slowly closed his eyes, listening to the soft purrs of a sleeping cat echoing through his room.

_By all the gods above and below, if the Pharaoh has anything to do with this I'll murder him,_ he thought sleepily.

_Could you not?_ Ryou mumbled drowsily. _I already missed work today…_

_**Not my life, not my problem, **_**yadonushi.**

_Have fun with the cat, _Ryou yawned, and Bakura felt him retreat deeper into his soul room.

_Fun. Right. _Internally he sighed. He was too tired to think but as he rolled over he had one question on his mind, where the bloody hell was the TV remote?

Moments later, he was asleep.

**LISE: Will Bakura find the remote? Will you find out what's with the talking cat? Will I update?**

_**LYLA**__**: Wow I can answer those the first one is -**_

**LISE: SHHHHHH (covers LYLA'S mouth) don't give it away! But I will answer one! YES FOR UPDATING!**

**LUV U GUYS please R&R**

**LISE&**_**LYLA**_


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 333… NOT REALLY ITS JUST CHAPTER 3

_LISE____IS____DEAD____SO____LYLA____HERE____IM____GONNA____WRITE____THE____STORY____TILL____SHE____COMES____BACK__… __MWAHAHAHHAHA_

_(_HiLISEhereyaLYLAwentinsane…. StupidSwedishfish.)

_LYLA__: __SWISHY____FISHYS____SWISHY____FISHYS____LALALALLALALAALAAAA_

LISE: LYLA, calmyourfriggingbuttdownandshutupsowecanwriteChapter 3 goshdangdarnit!

_LYLA__: __fine__, __fine____whatever____oh____ya____disclaimer____we____need____one____of____those____umm____WE____DON__'__T____OWN____Yu__-__Gi__-__Oh____sadly____and____we____don__'__t____own____Bakura__….-__cries____into____sweater____sleeves__- (__sniffle__) __I____want____Bakura__… :__s_

LISE: shutupLYLAdon'ttellthereaders -points- theyaregonnastare… okayyaknowwhat, onwiththeChapter!

_LYLA__: __grumble__, __grumble__…_

Chapter 3

Rolling over, Bakura used a fluffy pillow to block the incoming sunlight.

"Ugh," he groaned, clutching his head. "This headache is _killing_ me."

"Sorry about those...they go along with the mind-link." A soft voice issued from down the hall-Bakura cocked his head-approximately where the bathroom was, he estimated. This seemed confirmed by the sound of water cascading against tile-surely the shower.

The Thief King stood up, wincing as the throbbing in his head intensified, and peeled off his sweaty black shirt. He grimaced in distaste. It was now covered in shimmering silver and red cat hair. As he brushed it off, he saw a gleam on the carpet. Bending down, he gingerly picked the object up between two fingers, bringing it up to his eyes and examining it closely.

A needle. Huh. _That_ hadn't been there when he went to sleep. Looking around, he saw several more needles, all the same type. Grumbling, he set about picking them all up.

Needle number three, to his astonishment, had a thick, silvery-yellow-white substance fast drying on its surface. Examining the others he had collected, he realised they were all hollow-the sort of needle you attached to a syringe.

He brought it to his nose and sniffed hesitantly, and shallowly (he wasn't _stupid_, if he just _inhaled_every possible-poison he'd encountered over the last few thousand years he'd be deader than he already was.

"I don't suppose you'd mind telling me," he began, normally-quiet voice raised so that she could hear it from down the hall, "why there are a half-dozen or so needles on my bedroom floor, all laced with chloroform's nastier older cousin?"

_*__No__-__no__-__no__, __careful__ '__Kura__! __Those__are__dangerous__!* _

Bakura pushed his untidy bangs out of his face and stared at the door to the hall. "Add to the list of things you need to explain to me, _cat_, exactly why it is you didn't communicate telepathically the first time?"

The cat strolled leisurely into his room, shivering slightly because her fur was soaked.

Bakura stared, put two and two together, and questioned, "How did you turn the shower on...?"

_*__Tell__ya__what__. __I__'__ll__tell__you_all _about__it__...__as__long__as_you _tell__me__who__Ryou__is__.*_

"Ryou, eh?" The Thief sighed. "Why don't I let him tell you himself?" he said as he closed his eyes. _Let_him _deal__with__this__bloody__migraine__..._

_*__What__do__you__m__-_

_*__Oh__.*_

The cat blinked her big green eyes rapidly.

With a gleam of gold from the thief's chest, unruly hair became more organized and less spiky, a sharp, angular face became soft and angelic, and his browny-maroon eyes-a colour not unlike that of drying blood-softened and almost seemed to sparkle as they took on a more chocolaty colour.

The cat found herself with a headache of her own as a sharp spear of _memory_thrust forward, fighting to make itself understood. What was it about this, about _him_or the _change_ or just some small detail of color, that seemed so familiar to her?

She had to know. She reached out in her mind, grasping for the memory. She was so close, so amazingly, tantalizingly close-

Then a soft, sweet voice interrupted her thoughts sending the memory flying off into oblivion.

"Hello there, little cat. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Ryou-or as my friends tend to call me, 'the real Bakura'. How do you do?"

The cat stared, dumb founded.

_*__No__, __you__'__re__certainly__not__ '__Kura__. __Um__. __Do__I__just__call__you__Ryou__, __or__do__I__call__you__Bakura__as__well__, __or__...__*_

"Ryou, please. It's what everyone else does, anymore; I've gotten used to it. Well, everyone except Marik. I think he just likes saying 'Bakura' so much that he doesn't really care who he's actually talking to." Ryou smiled slightly.

_*__Y__'__know__, __Rii__, __I__can__actually__almost__believe__that__. __So__...__you__and__ '__Kura__. __How__are__you__in__his__body__?*_

"I'm not," Ryou said, looking gently irritated-from the lack of tell-tale lines around his brow and lips, the cat guessed it was not an expression he wore often. "_He__'__s_in mine. It's sort of a long story." He reached around his neck, lifting a large, dream-catcher-like pendant away from his chest. An eye carved into the solid gold gleamed sharply at her. "This is the Millennium Ring. You see, this all started five thousand years ago, in a country called Egypt..."

KaibaCorporationHQ

OfficeofSetoKaiba, CEO

Kaiba glared at his laptop, he had just gotten an email from one of his employees at the Kaiba labs. One of Pegasus's 'experiments' had escaped, and apparently was now working with Bakura to steal from the most wealthy places in Domino.

When Pegasus had asked permission to use his labs, along with all its workers and equipment, he had agreed. Kaiba had thought Pegasus was just trying to find a way to revive his dead wife, again, but _no__. _Apparently, trying to bring back the dead wasn't _impossible_enough for the eccentric game designer. When he had visited his labs there had been a large circular ring with a large domed roof made of glass in the middle of a ring of monitors and large machines. Inside the dome were three teenagers.

Seto had read the reports on them all. The one with the silver-white hair was an orphan and the other two's parents had volunteered them, they all stood inside the glass encasement. Most likely for the workers safety, the two boys (their parents had volunteered them) were fighting robotic dummies. As Kaiba watched, the dummies were reduced to scraps of metal. The boys high-fived-an unexpectedly civilized gesture, considering he'd just watched them rip solid steel to bits-and sat on a bench to rest.

The girl-the orphan-was sitting at the other end of the bench and when they sat down she stood up and stepped up to another of the dummies. The metal dummies stalked forward on wobbly legs, as they neared her; she stepped back and closed her eyes. The CEO raised an eyebrow (for him, the equivalent of his jaw dropping to the floor) as the girl transformed into a sleek lion-or would that be lioness, he'd never really paid attention to the finer points of zoology (after all, he did have to spend an _inordinate_amount of time around Wheeler and he knew more than he cared to about the mutt already)-and shredded each dummy with razor sharp claws, one after the other in quick and deadly succession.

Seto knew that it was the lion-girl who had escaped, and that she was dangerous. Much to Kaiba's dismay there were no lion sightings anywhere in Japan, so his personal pet theory-that someone from Motou's little cheer-leading squad or worse, Bakura and Marik, had gotten hold of her-was pretty much out. He didn't bother searching for the girl's human form-from the files, he already knew she was next to defenseless as a biped. Seto knew if any of this got out to the press then he wouldn't hear the end of it and his lab would probably be shut down. This did _not_sound like a good plan...even if he _would_ like to see Pegasus knocked down a peg.

And, of course, his research stopped. Kaiba couldn't help it; every time he looked at one of those teens he saw Mokuba in their place. The boys seemed happy about it, but the girl (when she wasn't too busy being a lioness) had this dull, lost look on her face-the same sort of look Mokuba had had after Pegasus took his soul. Kaiba shook his head; he didn't need to think about that now. What he really needed to do was to finish his work.

Seto opened up his computer and began typing away but he couldn't help but worry about the girl-though whether he was worried on her behalf or his own, he couldn't say. He sighed and slammed his laptop shut, rubbing his temples. He stood up and paced his office, folding his hands behind his back. He had long since come to the realization that he actually _had_to find her, or risk losing KaibaCorp for good, moral issues be damned. So, if he wanted to preserve the Kaiba name and keep himself and Mokuba from financial ruin, he first needed to swallow his pride.

He needed to ask for help.

Although, he suppose it could be worse. In order to find someone who was hiding, you asked someone with _experience_hiding, which took the King of Games off the top of his list (he would be _damned_to the lowest circle of _Egyptian__hell_ before he asked _them_for help). Unfortunately, it moved two of his _other_least-favorite person(s) to the top of the list: He needed the Egyptian, Marik Ishtar, or that tedious Thief King (it would be too much to hope that he'd actually be able to talk to The Sane One, as he mentally referred to Ryou).

The CEO stepped out of his office to head to the Domino Museum where he knew that Marik's older sister worked (God, he hoped she'd be too busy to do more than just tell him where Marik was), but as he strode down the hall he found himself running headlong into a speeding albino.

Ryou gasped.

"Kaiba! I-I'm sorry I d-didn't see you there!" he looked down at his hands fully aware of Kaiba's fiery wrath.

"Bakura. What the hell are you doing here? Wait, let me guess. Psychopathic aliens from Egypt Past are invading and you need my help to form a mystical circle to save Earth, am I right?" Kaiba snorted. "Whatever. I've got bigger problems." He started to stride away. Then he turned. "Seriously, what _are_you doing here?"

Ryou blushed. "I work here," he said in a small voice.

Kaiba stared. "You're kidding me. I'm _paying_ a member of Yugi Motou's dream-team?"

Reluctantly, Ryou nodded. Kaiba growled under his breath.

"Great. Just what I needed on top of everything else today. Wait, you and that Tomb Keeper guy Ishtar are roommates or something, right? Where is he?"

"He went to work yesterday and never came home ...his cat and I are worried," Ryou sighed, doe-brown eyes crinkling in concern.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "His...cat."

"Ah, did I say cat? Cat, yes _Cat__,_ Catherine, um, a ...coworker..."

"Look, whatever, do you have a way of contacting him? Cell phone?"

Ryou shook his head, white hair swishing against his cheeks. "No, he left his mobile at the apartment..."

The CEO huffed out what might have been a sigh if it hadn't been so harsh . "Great. Figures. You can't shake the Egyptian twerp until you actually _want_him." He snorted and turned on his heel.

Ryou bit his lip, bouncing gently on the balls of his feet. "Could, um, I be any help?"

"Can't hurt," Kaiba admitted grudgingly. "Come on, Bakura." He started towards his office, turning back when he realized Ryou hadn't moved. "_Today__?"_

As Ryou opened the door to Kaiba's office, Seto had already seated himself in his high-backed chair and had his computer up. He flipped the laptop to face Ryou. The albino sat down and looked at the picture. A girl with silvery-white, streaked with red, hair stared back at him. As the boy scrolled down to another picture he gasped. It showed the same girl, except this time an image of her bare back. Three fiery red scars slashed across her back, so very familiar to the albino. He scrolled down more and saw two smaller pictures, one of a tawny lion and a white cat. Ryou smiled. _Hello__cat__._

"What is this girls name? It says here that her code is Bast, ya know like the cat goddess."

"i cant tell you her name." Seto stated.

The Albino Pouted "why not?" Kaiba placed a hand to his temples and sighed.

"Ryou i can't tell you so stop pressuring me."

"But," the boy stood up, "wait did you just call me by my first name? That must mean it's important."

The young CEO stood up and glared icy daggers at Ryou and asked, "Have you seen this girl?"

The albino looked down at the plush carpet and mumbled under his breath.

Kaiba sighed "A little louder please Bakura."

Ryou blushed and mumbled a little louder, "Yes i have seen her, and i know where she is."

Seto grabbed the smaller boys arm and pulled him towards the door, "well why didn't you say so? Lead the way."

**Later****at****the****Bakura****residence**

Ryou pushed open the door and stepped into the entry hallway, he groped fort he light switch and flicked it up. Nothing happened, Ryou sighed and grabbed a flashlight.

"Why aren't the lights working?" kaiba asked.

"How should i know, i don't own the building."

The CEO growled and sat down in a comfy chair next to the kitchen as the albino ran around obviously looking for someone. Seto reached out and grabbed the albino's thin wrist as he rushed by."she's not here is she?"

Ryou shook his head and held up a note, "she left this, and someone obviously broke in." he read it out loud so kaiba would understand.

"Dear Ryou and Bakura, I got bored, mostly because there is nothing good on TV and i was lonely so i left ill be back later! See you then, oh if you need to contact me call this number. this is where i will be oh and ask for 'Scar'. Bye! P.S. I hid the remote again! Ha-Ha!"

The small boy showed the taller one the notepad, "should we call the number Seto?"

Kaiba grabbed the pad and ripped out the number, he stood up and dialed it on his phone

"Dominoe Fight club, how may i place your bets?" a bored voice answered.

"I am not interested in placing any bets, I'm looking for 'Scar'."

"Ah why didn't you say so? She has a match tonight in 15 minutes! your welcome to come down and watch."

Seto disconnected the call, "Come on bakura we have a runaway to catch." he strode out of the penthouse with Ryou scurrying after him.

The boy with the dark hair put the phone down and turned to the larger boys behind him.

"That was Seto Kaiba, from KaibaCorp, he's looking for Bast."

"B-boss, do you want us to get rid of him and his friend?"

The boy ran a hand through his shiny hair, "Kaiba is our fund-er, we can not harm him. But you know how to get rid of any friends he brings." he looked down at his hands where he was fiddling with a floating ball of dark clouds ."Now get out of my sight before I kill you all."

The larger boys bowed "Yes Andrew" and scurried out of the room.

TheEndOfChapter 3!

Lise- HEYHEYHEY sorry I'm late you guys, school, work, and etc. like to keep me busy.

Lyla- Ya you were being laaaazzzyyyy.

Lise- … shut … up …

Lyla- well we have to go Lise is gonna kill me with that chainsaw.

Lise- (revs up chainsaw) hehehehehehehehe

Lyla- And I thought i was the crazy one, well bye!


End file.
